Air conditioning systems are currently commonplace in homes, office buildings and a variety of vehicles including, for example, automobiles. Over time, the refrigerant included in these systems often gets depleted and/or contaminated. As such, in order to maintain the overall efficiency and efficacy of the air conditioning system, the refrigerant may be periodically recharged.
Currently available processes for recharging air conditioning systems typically include placing refrigerant in a recharging unit, connecting the recharging unit to an air conditioning system and transferring the refrigerant from the recharging unit to the air conditioning system. More specifically, some currently available recharging units include a refrigerant-containing reservoir, a scale that supports and monitors how much refrigerant is in the reservoir and a valve that regulates the rate at which the refrigerant flows out of the reservoir.
In operation, such a recharging unit initially charges the air conditioning system to within a certain amount of the optimal (e.g., manufacturer recommended) charge amount for the air conditioning system in question. Then, the recharging unit continues the charging process by periodically opening the valve in short pulses of a predetermined length. Subsequent to each pulse, a scale reading is taken and the amount of refrigerant that has been transferred out of the reservoir is determined. These pulses continue until the optimal charge for the air conditioning system in question has been achieved.
The above-discussed recharging systems and methods have proven to be relatively accurate but also relatively slow. This is particularly true as the target level of charge is approached since the pressures in the reservoir and in the air conditioning system sometimes nearly equalize. As such, in some instances, the recharging unit may pulse for one minute or more. In other instances, due at least in part to the ideal-gas-law-related changes in temperature associated with pressure changes as the refrigerant enters the air conditioning system and exits the recharging unit, the recharging unit may never attain the target level of charge.